Heel balancing insole

ABSTRACT

A removable insole for footwear that provides increased comfort through cushioning, and restores balance to the heel and rearfoot through a graduated thickening of the insole from the center of the foot either outward towards the outside of the foot or inward toward the instep of the foot.

RELATED TO U.S. APPLICATION DATA

This application is entitled to the benefit of Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/560,902 filed on Apr. 9, 2004.

BACKGROUND—FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to insoles for various types of footwearto provide increased comfort, added cushion and restore balance to theheel and foot of the wearer.

BACKGROUND—DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART

In the footwear industry, insoles are well known. Insoles can be anintegral part of a shoe, or can be a removable portion of the footwearthat is added at the time of manufacture. Because the insoles in mostshoes are made for immediate comfort, not extended use, they often breakdown quickly. Insoles can also be purchased as an after-market productto be inserted into footwear by a consumer, either in addition to theirexisting insoles, or as replacements for insoles that have worn out.

In the past few decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to thedesign and manufacture of shoes and insoles for specific applications,such as athletics like running and basketball. These efforts havefocused primarily on athletic applications in an attempt to tailor theshape and characteristics of the insole to meet the specific demandsplaced on the foot from the type of movements most common to aparticular sport. In spite of this increased attention to designing aninsole for a particular application, there has been little attentiongiven to the design of insoles for people who in normal walking oractivities experience excessive wear on the outer heel portion andcounter of their footwear. Other prior art insoles mainly focus oncushion and comfort as their specific application and do not address thefoot imbalance and related excessive heel wear problems faced by manyconsumers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A heel balancing insole is provided for restoration of balance of theheel and foot of the wearer who experiences excessive heel wear on theouter or inner sides of the heel or shoe counter. The heel balancinginsole comprises a textured fabric layer for added airflow and moistureabsorption and a cushioning and balancing layer that increases inthickness from the center of the insole either toward the instep ortoward the outer side of the insole.

The heel balancing insole is a resiliently compressible balancing andcushioning insole that can be mass-produced and provides the desiredbalance of the heel and rearfoot for a large percentage of personshaving imbalance problems and a need for additional cushion and comfort.The result obtained by this insole is a greatly increased wearablelifespan for each pair of shoes without the high cost of customizedorthodontic insoles.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide aninsole that overcomes the aforementioned problems.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an insole thatincreases the wearer's comfort.

Another object is to provide an insole, which cushions the main contactarea from heel strike through mid-foot stance.

A further object is to provide an insole that is adjustable to variousshoe sizes and styles.

It is another object of this invention to provide means for reducingabnormal heel wear on a consumer's footwear.

Another object is to provide an insole that will greatly increase thewearable lifespan of a consumer's footwear.

A further object is to provide an insole that is easy and economical tomanufacture and use.

Other objects of this invention will be evident from the followingdetailed descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention, together with other objects, features, aspects andadvantages thereof, will be more closely understood from the followingdescriptions, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a rear view of the left shoe displaying a wear pattern typicalof that caused by foot pronation;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the right shoe displaying the wear pattern whenbalanced by the heel-balancing insole;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heel-balancing insole;

FIG. 4 is a top view of left and right heel balancing insoles where theinsole thickness is graduated from the center of the insole to theoutside of the foot;

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of the insoles in FIG. 4 at section lines2-2 and 3-3 respectively;

FIG. 6 is a series of section views from FIG. 4 as taken on view lines4-4, 5-5, and 6-6 respectively.

FIG. 7 is a top view of left and right heel balancing insoles where thethickness of the insole is graduated from the center of the insole tothe inner side of the foot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION—PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As required, detailed descriptions of the present invention aredisclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied invarious forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as abasis for the claims and as a representative basis for showing oneskilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in allappropriately detailed forms.

Referring to FIG. 3, the insole 10 is comprised of two layers, a topfabric layer 12, and a cushioning and balancing layer 14. The insole asshown in FIGS. 3, 4, 7 is a full insole, but is divisible into threesections. The dash lines from the inside to the outside of the insoleillustrate the three divisible sections. If only the rearfoot portion 16is desired, the insole can be cut along the dash lines between therearfoot portion 16 and the midfoot portion 18. If a toeless insole isdesired, the insole 10 can be cut along the dash lines between themidfoot portion 18 and the forefoot portion 20.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the left and right insole 10 where thethickness of the insole 10 graduatedly increases from the center of theinsole outward toward the outer side of the insole 10. The insole 10 isflat at the instep-to-center portion of insole X1, and increases to thesecond thickness X2, and increases again to the third thickness X3, andincreases a final time at the outer portion of insole X4, such that theouter portion of insole X4 is approximately four times the thickness ofthe instep-to-center portion of insole X1.

FIG. 6 illustrates through sectional views of the embodiment of FIG. 4the graduated increase in thickness of the insole 10 as seen in from therearfoot section view 4-4, the midfoot section view 5-5, and theforefoot section view 6-6. In an alternative embodiment, FIG. 7illustrates the insole 10 with the thickness of the insole reversed,such that the thickness increases from the center of the foot towardinstep portion of insole x4.

FIG. 7 shows the right and left foot with the insole 10 graduatedlyincreasing in thickness from the center of the foot to the instepportion of insole x4. The insole 10 is flat at the outer-to-centerportion of insole x1, and increases at the second thickness x2, andincreases again at the third thickness x3, and increases a final time atthe instep portion of insole x4, such that the outer-to-center portionof insole x1 is approximately one-fourth the thickness of the instepportion of insole x4.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that othervariations can be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention as claimed. For example, the graduation of the thicknessacross the insole can be increased or decreased to accommodate userswhose wear patterns are more drastic or less drastic than the averageconsumer.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these shouldnot be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodimentsof this invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determinedby the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by theexamples given.

DRAWINGS—LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10 Heel balancing insole-   12 Top fabric layer-   14 Cushioning/balancing layer-   16 Rearfoot portion-   17 Midfoot portion-   20 Forefoot portion-   X1 instep-to-center portion of insole-   X2 Increased second thickness-   X3 Increased third thickness-   X4 outer portion of insole-   x1 outer-to-center portion of insole-   x2 Increased second thickness-   x3 Increased third thickness-   x4 instep portion of insole

1. A heel balancing insole for footwear having at least a rearfootportion comprising: a top fabric layer and a cushioning and balancinglayer, having a top and bottom surface generally contoured inconformance with the bottom surface of at least the rearfoot portion ofthe human foot, said insole having an inner side, a center, and an outerside across said insole, with said insole being substantially flat atsaid inner side, and increasing approximately 1 fold in thickness atsaid center of said insole, and again increasing approximately 1 fold attwo equidistant points from said outer side of said insole, such thatthe thickness of said outer side of said insole is approximately fourfold the thickness of said inner side of said insole.
 2. A heelbalancing insole according to claim 1, further including a midfootportion and a forefoot portion.
 3. A heel balancing insole according toclaim 1, wherein said cushioning and balancing layer is comprised of anelastomeric, polymeric, and/or foam material.
 4. A heel balancing insoleaccording to claim 1, further including an adhesive means on said bottomsurface for securing said insole to the inside of a users footwear.
 5. Aheel balancing insole according to claim 2, wherein the divisionsbetween said rearfoot portion and said midfoot portion and between saidmidfoot portion and said forefoot portion are demarcated by long dashlines for ease of separation of the portions by the user.
 6. A heelbalancing insole for footwear having at least a rearfoot portioncomprising: a top fabric layer and a cushioning and balancing layer,having a surface generally contoured in conformance with the bottomsurface of at least the rearfoot portion of the human foot, said insolehaving an inner side, a center, and an outer side across said insole,with said insole being substantially flat at said outer side, andincreasing approximately 1 fold in thickness at said center of saidinsole, and again increasing approximately 1 fold at two equidistantpoints from said inner side of said insole, such that the thickness ofsaid inner side of said insole is approximately four fold the thicknessof said inner side of said insole.
 7. A heel balancing insole accordingto claim 6, further including a midfoot portion and a forefoot portion.8. A heel balancing insole according to claim 6, wherein said cushioningand balancing layer is comprised of an elastomeric, polymeric, and/orfoam material.
 9. A heel balancing insole according to claim 6, furtherincluding an adhesive means on said bottom surface for securing saidinsole to the inside of a users footwear.
 10. A heel balancing insolefor footwear having at least a rearfoot portion and a having a top andbottom surface generally contoured in conformance with the human foot,said insole having an inner side, a center, and an outer side acrosssaid insole, with said insole graduatedly increasing in thickness fromsaid center of said insole toward either said inner side of said insole,or toward said outer side of said insole, where a side is substantiallythicker than said center of said insole.
 11. A heel balancing insoleaccording to claim 10, wherein said cushioning and balancing layer iscomprised of an elastomeric, polymeric, and/or foam material.
 12. A heelbalancing insole according to claim 10, further including an adhesivemeans on said bottom surface for securing said insole to the inside of ausers footwear.
 13. A heel balancing insole according to claim 10,further including a midfoot portion and a forefoot portion.
 14. A heelbalancing insole according to claim 13, where the thickness of saidouter side or said inner side is approximately four fold the thicknessof said center of said insole.